Who Goes There!Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
General
Who Goes There!
Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction
This time he was entirely awake and responsible for his actions. So was
she. But she was really very tired, she remembered, when conscience
began to make her uncomfortable and call her to account.
But she was too weary to argue the point; her cheek rested unstirring
against his shoulder; once or twice her eyes opened vaguely, and her
hand crept toward the orchids at her breast. But they had not been
crushed. Her white lids closed again. It was unfortunate that she felt
no desire to sleep. Her conscience continued to meddle at intervals,
too.
But of one thing she was quite certain--she would not have tolerated any
such thing very long had she not been very sure that he had immediately
gone to sleep.... And she was afraid that if she stirred he might
awake.... And perhaps might not be able to go to sleep again.... He
needed sleep. She told herself this several times.
"Karen?"
"What?" she said in consternation. And she felt her cheeks growing hot.
"You _will_ let me have those papers, won't you?"
She lay very still against his shoulder.
"Won't you?" he repeated in a low and very gentle voice.
"Please sleep," she said in a voice as low.
"Won't you answer me?"
"You need sleep _so_ much!"
"Please answer me, Karen."
"You know," she said, "that unless you let me sleep I--couldn't
rest--like this. Don't you?"
"Are you not comfortable?"
"Yes.... But that has nothing to do with it. You know it."
He murmured something which she did not catch.
"I don't _care_ to rest this way if we are going to remain awake," she
whispered.
"I am asleep," he replied, drowsily.
Whether or not he was, she could not be certain even after a long while.
But, in argument with her conscience again, she thought she ought to
take the chance that he was asleep because, if he were, it would be
inhuman of her to lift her head and arouse him.
Meanwhile the train moved ahead at a fair speed, not very fast, but
without stopping. Other trains gave it right of way, hissing on
sidings--even military and supply trains which operated within the zone
controlled by General von Reiter's division. The locomotive carried
several lanterns of various colours. They were sufficient to clear the
track for that train through that strip of Belgium to the Luxembourg
frontier.
Hills, woods, mountain streams, stretches of ferny uplands, gullies set
with beech and hazel flew by under the watching stars.
Over the fields to the west lay what had been Liège. But they swung east
through Herve, past Ensival, then south by Theux, Stavelot, over the
headwaters of the Ourthe.
Forest trees almost swept the window panes at times; lonely hamlets lay
unlighted in darkened valleys. Karen's blue eyes were shut and she did
not see these things. As for Guild he lay very still, wondering how he
was to get the papers--wondering, too, what it was about this girl that
was making this headlong, nerve-racking quest of his the most
interesting and most wonderful journey he had ever undertaken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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